I ordered 2 of them....looking like it may have been a mistake,.....if Dan is having trouble, than I have no hope of getting them running....lol

Ok

For the record. I am not selling these and I do sell a product that is in direct competition with the Clark board. I have tried to be as objective as I could when reviewing this product, and I hope I have at least helped out a little in this. As I have uncovered a couple of little issues I think I have to step away from this review process, as my comments might be taken the wrong way.

I think it is important that I tell you that this is not plug and play and my experience has been that you need to heat up the soldering iron, and do a little reading. Again I believe this is an objective observation.

If you buy one of these you will need to communicate with Clark directly for any guidance and help. I of course don't mind helping a little, but I will not spend too much time trouble shooting any problems with this hardware.

I like the DBC3/Benedini combo and that I support fully.

Cheers

Just little issues. Nothing major, and I will be happy to share what I have learned. The point I am making is that the hardware is only half of the equation. The other half is service, So yes this is an incredibly low price,powerful piece of hardware. The next piece is the service, and that I am leaving to Clark to demonstrate.

Cheers

Yes, I understand that.....its funny, over on rcregument site, some of the people were saying that this was a plug and play unit, when I when I told them the same things you are saying....I was warned for being a troll.....I ordered 2 with the hope that this will all get sorted out and some better instruction turn up. What this board is supose todo is just what I am looking for, I want to run a mix of hinglong and tamiya parts, I want tamiya recoil and I want better sound, I want hl turret rotation and gun elevation, I also want to run tamiya apples....If I can not figure it out, well, thatsa cunk of cashdown the drain, sucks to be me. If I can get it figured out, well then Isaved a bunch of moneyover just buying full tamiya systems.

I have to say how much I appreciate Dan's comments and his careful analysis of his position with respect to selling the DBC3/Benedini units. I ordered one from him and I'm in the process of building a breakout board that can be used to plug the RX18, DBC3, Benedini and provide several additional power ports and servo plugs. My goal is to plug all the boards into the breakout board, build a clean styrene kit box with a fan and be able to plug all tank systems into the top of the kit box. I'll post when done. I absolutely hate a mass of wires and naked boards floating around.
My point is that I am spending precious time trying to tame the mess of all the boards and systems that must be cojoined to make the system work. I would love nothing more than one board to control everything.
However, as all the functions need to provide the desired outcome (the HL elevation system on the RX18/DBC sucks../not Dan's fault), it's only as good as where you bought it from.
If the Clarke board doesn't provide good directions and even more importantly, great service - it's like buying a Heng Long tank all over again. Maybe it will work and maybe it won't.
Perhaps Dan can marry the Benedini and the Clarke board to provide a turn key solutions at a cost effective basis (and getting rid of the RX18!) while providing excellent sound control and management while providing exceptional service(?).
Just a hope. I hate buying overseas and waiting, and hoping, and wondering....
tjs

Sometimes, it's not what you say, it's how you say it

Here Here!

I say this is interesting..........

http://hooben.com/product_info.php?products_id=353

Why would I order it form Hooben when I can get one from Clark for $60 plus shipping?

Just thought it was intesting....they just added it, if they are involved there may be a t55 sound set comming and that might work for the kv1 people that do not want a soviet tank sounding like a tiger.

Yea buddy!!! That would be good. I wasn't questioning you I was questioning their price. Hey and quit poking around in here an get back to work on the E-100!!! LOL!!! Are you waiting for glue to dry or are you stuck at work? LOL

$106 is still cheep in my book for a tank operation system.stuck at work ftl

Yes, $106 is still inexpensive, just trying to save every dollar I can so I can get one of Chris's E-100 hulls!!!!

I thought you only did panzer 3's and panzer 4's........

"there may be a t55 sound set coming" ... Since Clark had already confirmed a Russian sound set was coming after the initial release of the German set, I guess this would be it. Ha ha , so the Hooben link was interesting indeed, but not too surprising really, however it was slightly confusing why an almost questioning tone, as I think you already knew from RCTankRegiment that Clark admitted in a post yesterday there was a new TK20-T55 version coming ... no "may be" there, I think it's safe to say there <u>is </u>one definitely coming very soon , nice. As you put it, now my KV-1 won't have to sound exactly like a German tank.

According to Clark's site, it lists the board for release in October:
Part Number______Application________Release Date
<table height="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="1" id="table68" class="MsoTableTheme"> <tbody> <tr> <td height="1" style="border-left:1.0pt solid black; border-right:1.0pt solid black; border-bottom:1.0pt solid black; width:25%;border-top:medium none;mso-border-top-alt:solid black .5pt;mso-border-alt:solid black .5pt; padding-left:5.4pt; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-top:0cm; padding-bottom:0cm"> <p style="mso-pagination:widow-orphan" class="MsoNormal"><span class="smalltxt1"> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Tahoma"><font size="2">TK20-</font></span><span lang="en-us"><font size="2"><span style="font-family: Tahoma">T55</span></font></span></span></p> </td> <td height="1" style="width:50%;border-top:medium none;border-left: medium none;border-bottom:1.0pt solid black;border-right:1.0pt solid black; mso-border-top-alt:solid black .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid black .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid black .5pt;padding-left:5.4pt; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-top:0cm; padding-bottom:0cm"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="smalltxt1"> <span lang="en-us"><font size="2"><span style="font-family: Tahoma">Russia</span></font><font size="2" face="Tahoma"> T-55 tank</font></span></span></p> </td> <td height="1" style="width:25%;border-top:medium none;border-left: medium none;border-bottom:1.0pt solid black;border-right:1.0pt solid black; mso-border-top-alt:solid black .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid black .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid black .5pt;padding-left:5.4pt; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-top:0cm; padding-bottom:0cm"> <p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><span class="smalltxt1"><span lang="en-us"> <font size="2" face="Tahoma">2012/10/1</font></span></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table>
I'm still wondering if Clark will indeed release multiple individualized tank sound sets for the TK-20 boards eventually, or if he sticks to just one German, one Russian, &amp; one Allied sound set as first thought ... &amp; I'm still waiting for my 2 TK-20 boards to arrive.

~ Craig ~

I'd like to hear more about the TK-20 mated to a Benedini and how it would be configured. That would take care of having to upgrade and what tank sound is being offered. I'm assuming (hate the first three letters) that all the sounds could be captured by the Benedini??
If so, the price point would be great and would provide the ability to move the modules from tank to tank - saving more money (I hope).
tjs

A Benedini can work with any receiver as it takes regular servo signals for engine sound mapping. Because the TK 20 allows you to not start the Clark engines sounds it provides a perfect platform to be supplemented with the Benedini Engine sounds if you wanted something unique that Clark never had.

Who knows, maybe a month or so down the road Clark releases a fully sound programmable card for $100 - $150 that provides exactly what you want in a single card, then the whole point of saving money by jumping too early on that combination would turn out that it wasn't a saving at all. There are still so many variables yet that haven't been fully confirmed or tested with these new cards, &amp; it's going to take a little while for everyone to digest them &amp; put them through their paces before we can get a real grasp in how great or how average the cards will be, &amp; which types of tank hobbyists will benefit from using them the most. So I guess I'm just saying, if it isn't an urgent matter to update a tank as soon as possible, it might be beneficial to wait a few months &amp; see just where Clark's boards end up going, or at least wait to see if Clark makes some absolutely clear statements about whether he is going to release a fully programmable card or not.

However, I do understand your desire, &amp; like you, I am curious to see how that combination fairs as well, because the more options in the long run the better anyway, of course. But that combination is still going to be in about the $200-$225 price range for both cards assuming the Clark boards remain in the $60 range &amp; the Benedini mini can be purchased for around $140. If someone needs a quick resolution, doesn't have time to wait to see what unfolds with the rest of Clark's plans for his other boards, &amp; that combination works well, then it could be a good choice right now for a programmable solution.

~ Craig ~

well this is interesting and I am going to assume right now that Clark and Hooben are the same people until someone shows me they are not.
Hooben also has some ships sold by a company named Arkmodel, Arkmodel has posted info on the Clark boards on other sites, or at least a poster named arkmodel has done this. I think the coincidence is well.. you get it.

I hear you, also wonder if the same group of tech's do the SLU's that fireman Tim carries?

I wouldn't be suprised. Hooben originally used electronics from the same manufacturer as the SLU and now they seem to have moved to the Clark gear. I've been waiting for two replacement T55 boards from Hooben for 6 months now and they have been explaining the delays by telling me they have been developing new electronics. It looks like this is it.

how do you order one no page to place an order

For now you can contact them directly: [email protected]

~ Craig ~

thanks Craig

buying directly from clark makes more sense.
I don't think any of the reseller can provide more professional technical advises or better after sales service